Speaker Ryan endorses Ron Johnson for re-election

Event in Burlington overshadowed by Ryan's apprehension to Donald Trump

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Updated: 5:59 PM CDT May 5, 2016

Nick Bohr / WISN

Speaker Paul Ryan endorses Sen. Ron Johnson for re-election at an event in Burlington, Wisconsin on Thursday, May 5, 2016.

SOURCE: Nick Bohr / WISN

Speaker Ryan endorses Ron Johnson for re-election

Event in Burlington overshadowed by Ryan's apprehension to Donald Trump

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Updated: 5:59 PM CDT May 5, 2016

Wisconsin Ron Johnson on Thursday picked up the endorsement of U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan.

"Ron is a friend, a colleague, and a fighter for all Wisconsinites," Ryan said. "If we’re going to get our country back on track by turning around this economy and strengthening our national security, we need Ron's principled leadership and Wisconsin common sense in the Senate."

Neither Ryan nor Johnson mentioned Trump during the campaign event or fielded reporters' questions afterward. While Johnson name-checked other Republicans he admires, including 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney and Ryan, he did not mention Trump during the rally. He followed Ryan's lead in refusing the take questions afterward.

Wisconsin's junior senator already faced a tough re-election bid before Trump rose to the top of the GOP field.

The Wisconsin contest is critical to Democratic hopes of recapturing majority control of the Senate, and they would seem to have the edge. No Republican senator in Wisconsin has been elected in a presidential year since 1980. The state has not backed a Republican's White House bid since Ronald Reagan in 1984.